Conflict of interest allegations have reportedly caused American medical journal New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) to change its policies regarding such disclosures.
The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education has criticised the journal for not revealing a financial conflict of interest with one of its study authors. This pertains to an article on CT scan effectiveness in the prevention of lung cancer deaths. According to media reports, the study authors - Dr. Claudia Henschke and Dr. David Yankelevitz - received a substantial, multi-million dollar grant from a cigarette manufacturer. The grant information was not revealed when the article was published in October 2006. The journal later issued a correction and published an editorial last spring.
The 2006 study concluded that broad CT scan use could prevent the vast majority of deaths attributable to lung cancer. While Dr. Henschke had advised the journal that she and Weill Cornell Medical College licensed the patent to GE, the journal opted to not disclose that information. It claimed it did not know the grant was funded, in large part, by a cigarette maker.
Financial ties between doctors, medical researchers and the drug industry is a known fact in the industry. Highly regarded doctors and researchers have also faced a great deal of criticism because of their financial arrangements with pharmaceutical companies.
